i.e. If you don’t receive one of the initial $2500 offers and attend a non participating school, that school awards you zero for National Merit.
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I think we are looking at this the other way around.
NMSC scholarship of one-time $2500 if awarded, the finalist becomes National merit scholar.
If one doesn’t the main way then left to become a scholar is for a finalist to designate a school that awards them a national merit scholarship of any amount, and then they also become a national merit scholar.
Exactly, but one shouldn’t expect a cash award to a non participating college unless they are in the first group. (it appeared misleading to me)
Where I am losing you is in the usage of term “non-participating” college. If one gets selected for National merit one time $2500 award, there is no participating college issue. As long as one attends any accredited college, one will become a National merit scholar. There is no conditionality of any school participation.
Many times, the college sponsored NM Scholar awards are more than $2500. For example, USC awards $4K ($500/semester) to NMF who did not receive the $2500 from NMSC or a corporate award.
Exactly. Which is what I have said this entire thread.
True. They “participate” or sponsor NM. The OP has a student choosing to attend a Non sponsor NM University. In order for NM to send a $2500 payment to that University, he will need to have the Scholar designate. All NMSF dont receive a $2500 from NM. They compete for them or choose a sponsoring University to attend or have a Corporate sponsor or get zero.
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NMSF Tours: For those that have done specific NMSF campus tours, did you feel like there was an advantage over the traditional campus tour? My junior son’s index score exceeds the highest cutoff score in AZ since 2008 so we are very hopeful that he’ll receive confirmation this September. We’d like to get a head start on exploring campuses now (especially those like UCF that have OOS limits) but wonder if it’d be best to wait until his NMSF status is confirmed so he’ll get the best experience/information at each school. Has anyone been successful setting up meetings with NMSF/NMF contacts at campuses when visiting prior to confirmation? Or is it best to wait until after September?
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Wait until he gets NMSF status, VIP tours and one-on-one’s with faculty and current students have a bigger impact and are worth waiting to the Fall.
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Noticed that Virginia Commonwealth is missing. In-state tuition, fees, room and board under Presidential scholarship.
https://admissions.vcu.edu/cost-aid/scholarships-funding/first-year-scholarships/
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Question from class of 2024: for schools with competitive, not-automatic scholarships based on National Merit status (say, BU/Northeastern), does applying ED ruin the chance at competitive merit? My guess is yes, but I don’t know if NM is any different from other competitive merit.
One note about VCU – how I’m reading it, an OOS student would still have to pay ~$20k/year since the scholarship covers in-state tuition only. But a very good option for Virginia residents that I haven’t seen before.
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Good catch- I edited the post.
Unless otherwise stated, competitive scholarships are either awarded early, first come first serve or after a certain date to allow for all to apply. But applying early shouldnt reduce ones chances to receive scholarships just because one is admitted already. I believe most apply asap to their interested schools.
The way I read @evergreen5’s post, the question is not about the “early” part of ED, but rather about the binding part of ED. The university has no reason to offer a merit scholarship as incentive to an applicant who is already committed through ED. I can envision ED possibly reducing the chances of receiving such a scholarship in this scenario, but I have no data to support that feeling.
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(Early decision is binding - meaning you promise you will attend if you are accepted - but there is one exception: financial reasons. If you receive your offer and cannot afford the cost, you can let the admissions office know and continue applying to other colleges.)
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Thanks. The financial affordability angle isn’t relevant to my question. I’m simply wondering, as @inforapound noted, whether a university has no incentive to award a competitive NM scholarship long after binding acceptance, and accordingly a student possibly ruins a chance at the competitive NM scholarship by applying ED instead of RD.
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Of course. The definition of early decision is clear to me as a parent who signed off on just such an agreement.
My point is that there’s a difference between meeting financial needs (through various means) and meeting financial wants (through merit scholarships, including those available to some NMF at certain schools). If a university meets the financial needs of an ED student within a binding contract, the incentivizing NMF scholarship might be used more effectively elsewhere, to meet the financial wants of an RD NMF applicant. I’ve no idea if it could really play out like that. 
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Although I understand your position, my position is different. There is no difference to me between financial needs and financial wants.
Many of these ED restrictive schools have billion dollar allotments. A school such as Harvard has zero need for putting myself or my child into financial debt or place any kind of financial burden when they can easily afford free attendance for all admitted. Yet they continue to send mailers to high academic students while then requiring application fees just to turn them down for a lower acceptance rate. (irresponsibly)
My need IMHO is 100% and as such my kids don’t apply to a school where it is not plausible or possible. I am retired with no debt. My kids have been raised to aspire to be debt free. A University that offers to put my kids back into debt, in my opinion, is being irresponsible and is not meeting “our” financial needs. Their calculation to meet their arbitrary numbers on what my need is means nothing to me.
I believe a school would have to be acting quite nefarious to deny a competitive student an earned competitive scholarship because they had already been accepted. It’s possible I am naïve. (probable) 
I see my kids as recruited academic athletes. There is a price the University must commit to, for their attendance. (much like many would do for their recruited athletes) Simply admitting them does not fit that contract.
Either way, I am not stating the OP has financial considerations. I am simply stating that if an ED school does not meet ones financial needs, one would not be required to attend.
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I didn’t mean to respond to your situation, about which I know nothing, rather to the more open hypothetical raised by @evergreen5. Apologies for not making that clearer.
This all hinges on one’s definition of elite, I suppose. In any case, @evergreen5’s post was referring to Northeastern or BU, both of which offer early decision consideration as well as substantial NMF-based merit scholarships. Neither are state flagships. The offerings at these schools (perhaps mirrored elsewhere) bear some thought for interested NMSF students. Understood that not everybody is so interested.